He did not give us a Spirit of fear!
Fear is a normal part of life, and sometimes we have no choice but to step into a situation that terrifies us. Mark Twain once said, “Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.” I have several people in my life who are facing difficult situations. One such person is waiting for test results which they hope will have had a positive outcome. Another has been given a prognosis which in all actuality is the doctor’s best guess. The question now is what will these people do with the outcome? How they move forward is a choice they are faced with now. Will they do it timidly, waiting for the other shoe to fall, or will they be courageous and live every moment of their life as the blessing it is. No one is guaranteed a certain amount of days, minutes, or hours, but we are given the here and now. What we do with the blessings that God gives us on a daily basis is entirely up to us.
I have a six-year-old granddaughter who played T-ball this year. She has three older sisters also playing softball, but she wanted to be the best. She is a little dynamo who sees every day as a new challenge, which she wants to conquer. She decided to learn how to slide into home plate, and before half the season was over almost every little girl was sliding across home plate! She did not display a spirit of timidity or fear, and that boldness allowed her to do new things, and to do her best.
Sometimes having a spirit of courage means you have to step out of your comfort zone. It means raising your hand in class when you’re embarrassed because you don’t understand what they’re talking about. It means getting on stage in front of an audience and using your talent for the Lord. It means standing up for your belief in God, and your trust in him without worrying what other people will think of you.
Many times in the Bible, God reminds us to be courageous because he is with us. Just like in the book of Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. No matter what you have to go through, God is there. In Psalms 28, He is referred to as my strength and my shield. And in Romans it says: What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Whom then shall we fear? What shall we fear? Why do we fear anything at all? In his word he promises his people strength and courage, knowing that he will never leave them or forsake them. His word is the same today as it was yesterday, last year, and hundred years ago. Grow in courage, trusting God’s promises in His Word, to be with you wherever you go, and bring you through whatever you face.
As parents I wonder if we have taught our children to be courageous in their trust in God. In our area there’s a police warning out about a 12-year-old boy who is missing. Where ever he is, he must be afraid, and our prayers are with the parents, and with the child. It reminds me of the time the little boy was kidnapped and thrown in the backseat of the Kidnapper’s car. He kept singing hymns until he drove the kidnapper crazy and he let him out of the car. That little boy had a spirit of courage, I pray it is so now, with the 12-year-old who is missing.
We as authors choose what to write about, and how to approach each subject. Today the President awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, posthumously, for great courage and valor. It is stories like this that need to be written for the world to see what is possible when we call upon the spirit of courage, which dwells within us. God does not give us a spirit of fear, that is refuse from the first sin in the garden. We are more than conquerors!
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
Deuteronomy 31:6
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
II timothy 1:7
Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.
I Corinthians 16:13
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
Psalms 27:14
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Psalms 28:1
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33